Isle of Wight

The festival season is coming and you have to be prepared. Take care of the financial aspect in advance by winning money through online sports betting. Here’s a Betfair free bet promo code to get you started.

You will now learn what to take with you and how to ensure that everything runs smoothly. In order for that to happen you have to prepare beforehand, so pay attention to the next paragraphs and keep in mind that once this boring preparation is over, the fun begins.

Organise the trip

First and foremost, you have to learn everything you can about the festival you will attend. Find answers to questions such as:

On what days will the event take place?

What part of the festival will you attend?

Are there any special preparations necessary to attend? For example: a travel visa if you’re going abroad, special equipment if you’re attending a sports event like bike riding or hiking, a tent if you’re going to camp onsite as opposed to staying in a hotel etc.

How much does the festival cost? Is it necessary to purchase a parking ticket in advance?

Where will you buy the tickets from? Is it possible to purchase them online?

Who will go with you? Will you take your children, your spouse, a couple of friends? Are they available for the duration of the festival? Have all the formalities been done for them too? (passports, visas, tickets etc.)

How will you get there? Book airplane tickets in advance to get a better price.

How will you move around the city? Will you rent a car? Find a good rental company online beforehand and make a reservation. Will you use a bike sharing system? Learn if there actually is such a system in the city and how much it costs. Will you ride the bus or take the subway? In this case, make sure there are means of public transportation that get you from the train station / hotel / airport to the location of the festival. Or maybe take a taxi? How much each of these cost?

Where will you sleep? Do you have any friends or relatives in the area? Is camping allowed? Are there any good B&Bs close to the festival? Or maybe some comfortable hotels? Get a better deal by booking everything in advance.

What to take with you

Make a list of the most important things you have to take with you: ID, passport, driving license, festival tickets, airplane/bus/ferry tickets, phone with charger and don’t forget money. Always have cash with you. If you need special equipment, make sure to add it on the must-have list.

Now, if you pack all of the above, you will be able to attend the festival. What about other things that seem unimportant but they make your life a lot easier? Here are our suggestions:

The Isle of Wight is a great holiday destination but your trip can turn into a total disaster if you don’t think things through in advance. We will try to help you figure out the important parts of your vacation so that you have the best time of your life and as few bumps in the road as possible.

Budget

This is perhaps the most important thing you should think about before planning a trip to the Isle of Wight, or to any place in the world for that matter. You have to take into account costs related to transportation, accommodation, restaurants, fun activities, cultural activities and event tickets, if you are planning to attend any. When it comes to transportation, don’t forget about ferry tickets. Considering that peak ferry fares sometimes cost as much as £100, you really have to factor them in. During the winter, you can pay as little as £35 per car and £6 per passenger.

In order to save money on food, choose a hotel with “all you can eat” deals and refrain from eating out often. Keep your money for other fun activities like water sports and horse riding instead of spending it on food. If you travel on a budget, choose the least expensive accommodation option (most likely a B&B) and buy food from the supermarket instead of eating out.

What to take with you

First off, don’t forget your ID and/or passport if you travel internationally. Secondly, we are talking about England, so it would be wise to get a plastic raincoat or at least an umbrella. The raincoat is more versatile though especially if you plan to attend open air events. Take proper shoes. It would be best to leave the high heels for inside parties and get something comfortable and waterproof for the outside. If you plan on hiking and/or cycling through the countryside, take appropriate gear.

Remember that the UK uses pounds not euros, so it would be wise to change money in your own country instead of withdrawing pounds from your EUR account through their ATMs, or worse, getting a really bad currency rate at the hotel or train station. Always have cash on you. In fact, credit cards are best left at home in case you become the victim of thieves who pry on tourists.

Bring travel insurance if any, health insurance, reservations and itineraries, contact information for the hotel where you will stay, transportation tickets, visas, and student ID if any (you might get discounts). The British electrical system uses a 3-pong flat head plug at 230/240 volts, so assess whether you need a power converter based on the power outlets in the country where you come from.

Here are the things you must bring (except for clothes) regardless of where you travel to:
Smartphone and charger
Headphones
Electrical converters
Hand sanitizer
Any medication you take on a regular basis
Glasses and case, if applicable
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Hair comb
Deodorant
Shampoo
Makeup and makeup remover, if applicable.
Small first aid kit for those who like to be prepared.

Do you love to cycle? The Isle of Wight invites you to take your bike through the British countryside in a non-competitive cycle ride that’s been around since 1985. There is no registration fee but you have to submit an online registration before the event that’s going to take place on April 30th, 2017. There are 2 types of rides you can choose from depending on your level of fitness and willpower: 100 km and 55 km, respectively. The event will start at 9 a.m. and it finish at 6 p.m. Don’t overestimate your stamina if you have never cycled for several hours in a row. It is strenuous but very rewarding.

The route takes you through the entire island on minor roads and lanes with the purpose of maximizing the contact of the rider with the gorgeous scenery of the island. If you are one of those who come from the mainland to the island especially for this event, it’s recommended to buy the ferry tickets in advance because there usually are queues during this time of the year. Not only that you risk missing the beginning of the ride but you will also start your day in stress by wasting time in lines. As for the actual event tickets, you can buy them online from sites like Wightlink and Red Funnel.

How to get there

After you get off the Fishbourne ferry, take the B3339 and then the A3054 to Newport. From there, take the A3021 to East Cowes. If you get to the island via the Yarmouth ferry, take the A3054 to Newport and then to Ryde. From there, take the A3021 to East Cowes.

In case you don’t have your own car, there are public transport options available. If you take the Ryde Cataraman/Hovertravel, you have to get on the No. 4 bus that will take you all the way to East Cowes. From the Yarmouth ferry, take the No. 7 bus to Newport where you will change to the No. 5 bus to your final destination. In order to learn the bus times in advance, call this number: +44 0871 200 2233.

So, here’s what you have to do:
1. Register online for the event
2. Check bus times prior to your trip in order to synchronize every aspect perfectly. If you can’t make ends meet, rent a car or ask someone with a car to drive you.
3. Buy the ferry ticket in advance
4. Get on your bike and enjoy the view.

To begin with, let’s make a list of the most important events that will take place on the Island of Wight in 2017:
1. Isle Walk – 29th April – 14th May
2. IoW Randonnee – East Cowes, 30th April
3. Isle of Arts – Ventnor, 1st-4th May
4. Isle of Wight Jazz Weekend – Newport, May 2017
5. Isle of Wight Festival – Newport, 8th-11th June.

Where to eat

Considering that the Isle Walk is mostly about walking on trails through the countryside, you will have to contact the organizers to find out if there are any meal options available. Still, you will probably have to bring your own food with you. For all the other events, you will have the chance to enjoy cooked meals at the best restaurants in town. Here are great places where you can eat:
East Cowes: The Lifeboat, Prego, Taste of India IoW.
Ventnor: Royal Hotel, The Hambrough, Spyglass Inn.
Newport: Gods Providence House, Medina Quay, Thompson’s Restaurant.

Tip: if you get bored while waiting for your food, entertain yourself with some online games, maybe even make a few sports bets if you’re at it. You could check out ladpromo.co.uk if you are good at sports betting.

Don’t overestimate yourself

There are plenty of walks you can take during the Isle Walk, some of which being more than 10 hours long. Hiking at a brisk pace for this long is strenuous exercise and should be avoided by families with children and by elder participants who suffer from heart disease. Opt instead for shorter walks at easier paces. You could do a test beforehand to see how much you can walk off road to find your limits. The same goes for the IoW Randonnee bike ride. If you have never traveled far on your bike, it’s recommended to go on the 55km ride instead of the 100km one. It doesn’t mean you won’t be able to finish the longer one, but you might be exhausted and you will turn an otherwise beautiful trip into a very unpleasant physical stress.

Buy everything in advance

We are talking here about anything that has to do with your trip, from airfare to train, bus and ferry tickets, festival tickets etc. If you travel by public transport, check the timetables and make sure you don’t waste time between rides. It’s important to verify if the schedule is the same on holidays and weekends if that’s when you will be traveling. You might consider saving money to rent a car if you don’t already own one because this will make your trip much more enjoyable and will simplify everything related to transportation.

If you want to attend the Isle of Wight Festival, buy the tickets early to get as close to the stage as possible because those places are sold first. Check if there are any discounts for your social category. For example, students pay less than regular adults. Also, if you come with your own car, you will have to pay a parking fee for the entire duration of the festival. This fee can be paid online when you buy the entrance tickets.

The summer is closer than you realize and the people of the Isle of Wight are getting ready for their annual festival where dozens of musicians gather to rock the island from the ground during 3 nights of incendiary concerts. This year, the festival will take place on 8-11 June and big names are awaited to enchant the attendants. This festival was first organized in 1968 but after 1970 it took a very long break until 2002 when it became a regular for the Isle of Wight.

In fact, it’s regarded as one of the biggest European music festivals featuring impressive line-ups every year. In the past editions, big names like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Fleetwood Mac and Faithless performed on the stage of Wight. Last year Iggy Pop and Queen & Adam Lambert put up an amazing show for those who appreciate good music.

2017 Line-up

Let’s start with the most popular artists that will take a few hours of their time to sing on Isle of Wight in June this year: David Guetta, Run DMC, Arcade Fire, Rod Stewart, Bastille, George Ezra etc.

Who else is going to perform? The list is long but here are the most important names: Kaiser Chiefs, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, The Pretenders, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Example + DJ Wire, The Kooks, Clean Bandit, Imelda May, Razorlight etc.

Tickets

Tickets are already available for purchase. You can buy them on the official website of the festival or on partner websites such as face-value-tickets, festicket, and ticketmaster among others. How much do they cost? The early bird tickets are already sold out so you are left with the regular ones. The price varies depending on which category you are in:
Adult Weekend Ticket – €223.86
Student Weekend Ticket €200.90
Teen Weekend Ticket €166.46
Friday Ticket €68.88
Saturday Ticket €91.84
Sunday Ticket €17.22

The weekend headliners are David Guetta, Run DMC, Arcade Fire and Rod Stewart. The Friday tickets allows you to see Guetta, Run DMC and Kaiser Chiefs among others. On Saturday, the main artists are Arcade Fire and Catfish & the Bottlemen while Sunday is the day of Rod Stewart, Bastille and George Ezra.

If you will drive to the concert, you also have to pay the weekend parking ticket that costs €17.22, being valid for the entire duration of the festival.

After the Acoustic Isle 2017 festival that occurred in late February – early March, the island is ready for another event: Isle Walk 2017 (April 29th – May 14th). It’s time to take your walking boots to discover the beautiful countryside of Wight. People of all ages and nationalities come to Isle Walk with the sole intent of walking the trails of the island to enjoy picturesque landscape classic to British geography. In case you didn’t know this already, the Isle of Wight is often known as England in Miniature and you will easily understand why if you participate to this event.

See up close the gorgeous chalky cliffs of the west coast and the green rolling hills of the eastern side. You will be walking through small villages and sailing towns as well as areas where people set foot with utmost respect in order to not disturb the quiet of nature.

For 2 weeks, you will forget about daily activities and you will enjoy the peace of England’s countryside where so many big city inhabitants come to live after retirement. They had enough of the tumultuous urban life and they want to live their golden ages in peace and fresh air.

Here are the first week challenges available at the Isle Walk 2017. You can book them on the official website of the island. For the second week challenges, visit this website.